A Letter To The One I Like
by SethRocks
Summary: Marc develops a crush on Nathaniel and decides to write an anonymous letter to him. Also, this is set in an AU where Marinette never met Marc, so she never introduced him to Nathaniel. The second chapter is the first chapter but from Nathaniel's POV and was beta read by Ryn Garner and Miraculous fanfic lover, so a big thanks to them for their help :)
1. Chapter 1

Marc writes in his notebook quietly, enjoying the silence of the area around him, as he sits in his usual spot beneath the stairs in the school's courtyard. He keeps writing, just the sounds of his pencil scribbling reaching his ears when suddenly, the silence is broken by the sounds of students' conversations. He peeks out to see Miss Bustier's class getting let out for the day.

Everyone from the class starts heading down the stairs he's hiding beneath. The shy boy doesn't make a sound and just listens to the semi loud clanging of feet making their way down to the courtyard below. He watches as people start heading out of school or to wherever they want. He breathes a sigh of relief at not being spotted and returns his attention to his notebook.

But his attention is caught by one student who hasn't left and instead decides to sit on a bench and balance a, what Marc assumes to be, sketchbook on their lap. Marc looks closely at the student and realizes that he's seen him around school a few times. Marc also notices how handsome he is with his red hair that shines like gold beneath the sunlight and his beautiful blue eyes that are as deep as the ocean.

The student sits there and just draws, eyes never leaving the sketchbook. Marc watches him for a little bit then decides to return to his writing. After writing for a little longer, he finds a stopping point and decides to head home. He puts his things away and picks his bag up before beginning his walk home, noticing that the student from before is gone now.

He leaves the school grounds and enjoys the quietness and calm of the sunny day as he takes the familiar route. While walking, he thinks about ideas for his writing. Lately, he's been trying to write things about Ladybug and the other heroes of Paris, but he has been struggling with coming up with ideas. Shortly, he finds himself heading into his house and going to his room.

He sets his bag down in its usual spot in the corner of the slightly messy room. He decides to go ahead and check the homework assignment posted on the school website by one of his teachers so he can get it completed. He takes his shoes off and sits down at the desk in his room before opening up his laptop and turning it on, mindlessly humming as it loads up. He enters his password and watches as the background comes into view.

He clicks on a browser tab at the bottom, prompting it to come up, then he types in the school's website and hits enter. He looks at the tabs lining the top of the school's page, scanning to find the teacher one when something at the top of the page catches his attention. It's labeled "Student Art". He clicks on it and the page loads to show pictures of someone's drawings of Ladybug and other heroes as well. He looks through all of them and is more and more amazed as he sees more pictures.

It doesn't take him long to reach the bottom of the page and all he sees is one sentence: "All of these drawings of our heroes have been done by Collége Françoise Dupont student, Nathaniel Kurtzberg."

Next to the sentence is a picture of a boy with nearly shoulder-length red hair covering one eye and the other bright, blue eye gazing at the camera as the boy has a slightly shy look on his face. Marc feels some heat creep into his cheeks as he takes in the other boy's appearance. He then realizes that he's seen this boy. He's in Miss Bustier's class and he's the boy with the sketchbook that was in the courtyard earlier that day.

Marc has noticed him around school before and always thought he was cute, but until now, he didn't know his name or anything about him. The writer wishes he could talk to him, but his shyness gets in the way every time he wants to talk to people. He starts thinking about how to get closer to the artist without having to straight out talk to him. Then it hits him. He should use his writing as the way to do it! He could make an anonymous letter to Nathaniel and sneak it into the boy's locker.

He smiles at the idea and pulls out a fresh sheet of lined paper before pulling out his favorite pen: a blue glitter one. He takes a deep breath and tries to gather his thoughts, but he finds himself struggling with how to convey his feelings properly. He thinks for several moments before deciding to take a snack break. He always finds himself able to think better once he's eaten something.

He goes downstairs and grabs a couple of chocolate chip cookies from a batch that his mom had made the previous night and pours himself a glass of milk to go with the sweet treat. He sits down at the desk in his room and munches the cookies while enjoying the cold, smooth milk and attempting again to think of something. He eventually settles with just writing a simple note about what he likes about the artist so he doesn't come across too strong or creep Nathaniel out. He puts pen to paper and starts writing.

_Nathaniel,_

_I noticed that we are both passionate about our art forms and when I first saw your art on the school website, I was impressed with how much work you put into your drawings. The movement, the expressions, the attitudes, they're all so amazing. I've been inspired by your art so much that I plan to write stories to accompany your drawings. I admire the determination you have when doing your art and the way that you're not afraid to show people your drawings. I just wanted to let you know that I think you're pretty great and I would like to get to know you._

_From, Your Secret Admirer_

He smiles as he finishes the letter, feeling confident that it's good enough to get the point across without coming off as weird. He folds it neatly before grabbing an envelope from his desk drawer. He writes the other boy's name neatly across the front before slipping the letter into it and sealing it. He puts the letter into his backpack so he won't forget or have the chance to chicken out. He won't let himself.

He's tired of not taking chances and passing on opportunities to do things that are important to him. He then does his original task of completing his homework for the day and gets it done rather quickly. After that, he looks at Nathaniel's drawings again and spends most of the night writing some things to go along with the art before getting tired and deciding to get some sleep.

He does his usual nightly routine of brushing his teeth and taking a quick shower before getting into bed and falling asleep rather quickly due to his eventful day. In the morning, he wakes up to the sound of his alarm. He sits up and turns it off before stretching and getting out of bed. He then begins his morning ritual of getting dressed, brushing his hair, and carefully applying some makeup.

After that, he goes to the kitchen and snags a blueberry muffin and an apple. He eats them then leaves the house to head to school. As he's walking, he remembers the letter and starts feeling nervous. He's really going to do this? Maybe he shouldn't. What if Nathaniel thinks it's weird and finds out it was him? He would have to change schools so he would never run into him again!

While he's debating whether or not to follow through with the letter, he arrives at school and walks in among the sea of students that are relaxing in the courtyard enjoying the time before the bell rings. He finds a place to sit on a staircase and just messes around on his phone to pass the time. After a few minutes, the sound of the bell echoes through the courtyard and everyone starts heading to their classes, Marc included.

The dark-haired boy spends the first half of the day with his nerves eating away at him slowly but surely about what he'll be doing later in the day. By the time he gets to his class that precedes lunch, he feels like a storm is wreaking havoc in his stomach. He spends a majority of the class jotting down notes as he nervously taps his fingers against his leg. He wishes this class would end already.

He looks up at the clock and notices that it's only ten minutes until the bell rings for everyone to go to lunch. He could just ask to go to the bathroom and not come back since the class only has a few minutes left and they're done with notes and are just having some free time right now, so he won't be missing anything important. That way, he'll have time to deliver the letter without anyone noticing. Marc sheepishly raises his hand and the teacher notices.

"Yes, Marc?"

"May I be excused to go to the bathroom?", he quietly asks.

"Yes, you may.", the teacher simply says before resuming grading papers.

Marc makes sure he has his bag and leaves the classroom before heading to the area he has in mind. He pays attention to his surroundings as he walks, making sure that he's alone. Besides seeing a couple of students along the way, there is no one around. He heads to the locker room reserved for Miss Bustier's class and goes in quietly. As he knew would most likely be the case, the room is empty, save for him.

He looks around at the lockers, wondering which one belongs to Nathaniel. He starts opening them one by one and looking at their contents to see if it's the right one. After a few tries, he finds one with sketchbooks and hopes that it's the right one. He places the letter into the locker and closes it. He walks away and heads to the door leading out to the hallway before his nerves can get the better of him and make him frantically try to take the letter back.

He goes through the door to hear the sound of people approaching from one end of the hallway. He darts into a small custodial closet and stays hidden as a group of people go by. He sees a flash of red through the small window on the door and looks to see that Nathaniel is in the group. He waits until the hallway becomes quiet once again before leaving the room and heading back into the hallway.

He looks around, wondering where they went and starts hearing noise from the locker room he was just in. He tenses up, realizing that his letter will be read any second now. He should probably leave, but his mind tempts him to sneakily approach the door of the locker room and stand outside it and he gives in. He doesn't make a sound as he listens to the voices filtering out from the room and the clanging of locker doors opening and closing. After a few seconds, he hears one voice in particular.

"What's this?", the voice asks in a confused tone.

He hears the rustling of paper before a couple of minutes of silence. Marc keeps listening before hearing someone approaching the door from inside the room, causing him to freak out and run away, heading to the nearest bathroom. He feels relieved at the sight of the empty bathroom and goes to stand in front of the mirror. He takes deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heart, cursing it for causing this whole mess in the first place.

After a few minutes, he's calm and he exits the bathroom. As soon as he steps through the door, the bell rings signaling that's it's time for lunch. Marc makes his way to the lunchroom and grabs what's being served that day before making his way to his usual spot, which is a table in the corner of the cafeteria. He sits down with his food and glances around the room, looking for a specific person.

He spots the red hair and watches Nathaniel talk quietly with his group of friends. He knows that he's probably being a creep by staring at the other boy, but he can't help himself. He just admires Nath's red hair and beautiful blue eyes as he eats his lunch. Then he spots a familiar letter in the redhead's hands and tries not to blush. From the distance, it looks like Nathaniel is telling his friends about the note that he found in his locker.

Marc decides to stop watching and focus on finishing his lunch. He jumps when another tray is placed onto the table and someone takes a seat across from him. He looks up to see blue hair, blue eyes, and a smile. Marc shakes his head and huffs before addressing the other boy.

"You scared me! A little warning next time, please."

Luka gives an apologetic smile. "Sorry. I'll give you a heads up next time. You seem awfully jumpy today. Is something wrong?", he questions his younger cousin.

Marc blushes slightly as he thinks about the letter and the person he wrote it to. "N-nothing's wrong.", he lies.

Luka raises an eyebrow before smiling kindly at Marc. "I can tell you're not being honest, but if you're not comfortable telling me, that's okay. I don't want you to feel forced to talk about what's on your mind."

Marc simply nods. "Thank you, Luka."

The two simply sit and eat in silence until the bell rings and they part ways to head back to their classes. As Marc is leaving the cafeteria, he fails to notice the blue-eyed girl with pigtails watching him with a thoughtful look on her face. The writer walks quietly to class and enters the room before sitting down, already wishing he could go home. The rest of the school day passes in a blur and he's soon heading home, ready to just unwind.

He spends the night just listening to music and writing some more, using Nathaniel's art as inspiration. He gets ready for bed just like the night before and slips into a comfortable, dreamless sleep. The next morning, he wakes up and gets ready like usual before making his way to school. He walks into the courtyard and keeps to himself, trying not to bump into anyone. He goes and sits on a bench in the emptiest area of the courtyard.

He sits down and starts writing in his notebook. He hears footsteps around him but doesn't pay the sound any mind, too absorbed in writing. That causes him to miss the short blue-eyed girl in punky attire watching him from not far away. She notices him writing in his notebook and narrows her eyes thoughtfully, the gears in her mind turning. After a few seconds, she smirks and walks away, heading over to a certain redheaded artist.

The rest of Marc's day is uneventful and he fights boredom as he takes notes and works on homework when he has free moments to do so. Once the final bell of the day rings, he leaves the room and heads down the hallway. He quickly walks into the room where his locker is and goes to it before opening it. He puts his stuff in like usual before noticing a piece of paper resting among his things.

He picks it up and faces it to himself to see what's on it. His eyebrows rise in surprise and his eyes widen as a blush appears on his face. The only thing on the paper is a drawing of him and Nathaniel embracing each other while sharing a gentle kiss. The drawing is colored in beautifully and Nath's trademark exclamation point, which is on every drawing on the school's website, is in the bottom right corner.

He hears a throat clear behind him and jumps slightly, not expecting the sudden noise. He turns around and sees the redhead that's been on his mind lately. Marc just quietly looks at him, noticing that Nathaniel's cheeks are tinted light pink. The artist swallows nervously before saying something.

"Hi, I'm Nathaniel, um... you already know that, don't you? I really enjoyed your letter and I would like to get to know you too, so I was wondering something. W-would you like to go out to have a coffee or something since school is over for the day?" Nathaniel awkwardly rambles while rubbing the back of his neck.

Marc fights back his nerves before replying. "Yes.", he says in a sure tone.

Nathaniel blinks once and stops mid-word as the blush on his cheeks intensifies before he responds. "Okay. There's a cafe not far from here."

Marc nods and the two then leave the school while giving each other shy glances with blushes on their cheeks as they head to the closest cafe to the school.


	2. Chapter 2

Nathaniel leaned his head on his hand, just waiting for the bell to ring as he felt particularly exhausted that day due to a drawing frenzy he found himself stuck in rather late the previous night. It carried on into the early morning, resulting in him only getting three hours of sleep which definitely resulted in having eye bags under those shimmering blue eyes.

Just as Nathaniel's eyes were shutting and his head was slipping down his hand, the bell rang causing the redhead to jolt slightly, startled by the sudden sound. He rubbed his face and gathered his things before heading to the door just like everyone else. Nathaniel gripped the straps of his bag and walked slowly down the steps, being as quiet as usual as he heard most of the kids converse about after school plans and activities related.

Everyone soon reached the bottom of the steps and spilled out into the courtyard, breaking off into groups of not less than four or five. Nathaniel watched as his classmates all left and decided to enjoy the quiet and peaceful nature of the seemingly empty school to work on a new drawing. He went over to one of his favorite places in the courtyard as he sat, while some sunlight illuminated the spot and the young artist got comfortable before pulling his sketchbook out.

Nathaniel set it on his lap and opened it to a blank page. He then tried to think of what he wanted to capture on paper. He thought for a few more seconds before starting to drag his pencil over the paper of the book. He started roughly creating an outline of Ladybug, completely engrossed in it.

Nathaniel quickly finished the drawing and checked the time on his phone, noticing that he had stayed at school a little longer than he meant to. He put his sketchbook back into his bag and quietly left the courtyard. His walk home was uneventful and peaceful, something he was very grateful for since there had been many akuma attacks in the last few days. He walked in and noticed his mom watching the news from her usual and comfortable spot on the couch.

After greeting his mother, Nathaniel entered his room, as he let his bag fall to the floor in the middle of his room before sitting down at his desk and clearing crumbled up papers off of the top of it, tossing them into the small trash can in the corner of his room. He then brought out the sketchbook and opened it to the page with his finished sketch.

Nathaniel took out his bag of colored pencils from a drawer in his desk and started filling in the sketch with color. He smiled as he worked, enjoying the drawing slowly coming to life by his hands. He finished it and put the color pencils away before starting to wonder what he should do next.

Nathaniel could check his email to see if anyone had responded to his request. He had been thinking about starting a comic about Ladybug and Chat Noir due to a conversation he had with the art teacher at school. The only problem was that the redhead was only good at drawing stories, not writing them.

Nathaniel's teacher suggested teaming up with a creative writer, but he didn't know anyone who was into that hence, Nathaniel put a flyer up outside the art room, but no one had reached out to him about it yet.

Nathaniel checked his inbox, hoping that at least someone would've noticed and contacted him, but there was nothing there. Alas, he sighed and just returned to drawing more pictures of Ladybug and Mightillustator fighting crime together. The teen spent the rest of the night drawing before he noticed the time and decided to get some rest.

Nathaniel sleepily went through his nightly notion of brushing his teeth and practically fell onto his bed after doing so. He dozed off quickly and fell into a hard sleep.

Nathaniel woke up to his blaring alarm a few hours later and struggled to find the object making the awful racket. He hit the snooze button and forced himself to leave the warmth and comfort of his bed so that he could get ready for the day. He quickly went about getting dressed and making himself look acceptable and presentable. Once satisfied with his appearance, he yawned and stretched before heading downstairs, lured by the smell of something delicious.

Nathaniel walked into the kitchen to see his mom making breakfast. There was a toasted baguette, with jam and butter on the side to be spread. Also, coffee with cream and orange juice sat neatly next to a bowl with assorted fruits. He wordlessly helped her complete everything before the two sat to eat together.

They finished their meal quickly and both left, his mother for work and Nathaniel for school. He arrived at school a few minutes later and quickly located his friends in the crowded courtyard. He merely stood with them as they talked quietly to each other. Soon after, the bell rang, and the group started heading to class.

They arrived there quickly and everyone took their seats before the lesson began. Nathaniel found himself feeling better today since he got more sleep and actually paid attention while diligently taking notes in each of his classes. Half of the day passed quickly, and he was soon in his last class before lunch.

After what felt like only a short amount of time, the teacher let them know that they could go to their locker room before the bell rang. Everyone stood up and quickly headed out of the classroom, ready for lunch, no doubt. Nathaniel walked behind everyone else as they walked down the hallway towards the room with their lockers so they could put some things away and get what they needed for later since lunch was about to start.

Nathaniel walked in as per usual and over to the familiar locker that contained his things. The redhead placed his hand on the handle of his locker and opened it before going to grab what he needs, but he quickly noticed a plain white envelope just laying on one of his sketchbooks. He took it, the neat cursive spelling of his name across the front of it.

"What's this?" Nathaniel thought, feeling confused as to who put the envelope in here and why they would do so.

Nathaniel picked it up and flipped it over to see if there was anything else on the envelope, but it was just his name scrawled on it. He carefully tore along the top of the envelope before removing the note resting within it and opened the carefully folded note. His eyes widened and his cheeks flushed slightly as he scanned what's prettily and neatly written on the lines.

? ﾝﾐﾚ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ﾝﾐﾞ?,

? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾢ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾭ ? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾡ ? ﾝﾐﾚ? ﾝﾐﾬ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾚ? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾛ? ﾝﾐﾮ? ? ﾝﾐﾮ? ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾦ? ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾧ ? ? ﾝﾐﾢ? ﾝﾐﾬ? ? ﾝﾐﾚ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾫ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ? ﾝﾐﾧ ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ? ﾝﾐﾜ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾥ ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ﾝﾐﾬ? ﾝﾐﾭ?, ? ? ﾝﾐﾚ? ? ﾝﾐﾦ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾬ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ? ﾝﾐﾢ? ﾝﾐﾡ ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ? ﾝﾐﾮ? ﾝﾐﾡ ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾤ ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ? ﾝﾐﾮ? ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ﾝﾐﾨ ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾫ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾰ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ﾝﾐﾬ. ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ﾝﾐﾭ, ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ? ﾝﾐﾱ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾬ? ﾝﾐﾢ? ﾝﾐﾧ?, ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ? ﾝﾐﾭ? ﾝﾐﾢ? ﾝﾐﾮ? ﾝﾐﾞ?, ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾲ'? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾥ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ ? ﾝﾐﾦ? ﾝﾐﾳ? ﾝﾐﾧ?. ?'? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ﾝﾐﾧ ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ﾝﾐﾩ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾝ ? ﾝﾐﾲ ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾫ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ ? ﾝﾐﾮ? ﾝﾐﾡ ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾭ ? ? ﾝﾐﾥ? ﾝﾐﾧ ? ﾝﾐﾨ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾭ? ? ﾝﾐﾭ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ ? ﾝﾐﾜ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾩ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾫ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾰ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ﾝﾐﾬ. ? ? ﾝﾐﾝ? ﾝﾐﾢ? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ﾝﾐﾦ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ﾝﾐﾭ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ? ﾝﾐﾚ? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾧ ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾫ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ? ﾝﾐﾚ? ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾭ ? ﾝﾐﾨ?'? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ? ﾝﾐﾟ? ﾝﾐﾚ? ﾝﾐﾝ ? ﾝﾐﾨ ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾰ ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ﾝﾐﾩ? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾫ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾰ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ﾝﾐﾬ. ? ? ﾝﾐﾮ? ﾝﾐﾭ ? ﾝﾐﾚ? ﾝﾐﾭ? ﾝﾐﾝ ? ﾝﾐﾨ ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ﾝﾐﾰ ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾭ ? ? ﾝﾐﾡ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ?'? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾭ? ﾝﾐﾲ ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾚ? ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾥ? ? ﾝﾐﾢ? ﾝﾐﾞ ? ﾝﾐﾨ ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ? ﾝﾐﾨ ? ﾝﾐﾧ? ﾝﾐﾰ ? ﾝﾐﾨ?.

? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾦ, ? ﾝﾐﾨ? ﾝﾐﾫ ? ﾝﾐﾞ? ﾝﾐﾫ? ﾝﾐﾭ ? ﾝﾐﾝ? ﾝﾐﾢ? ﾝﾐﾞ?

The words caused Nathaniel to have a strange but good feeling that he found himself unable to name or describe. The feeling caused his heart to feel like a fluttering bird and his chest to have a warmness seep through it. He quietly read everything that was written before returning the note to the envelope and sliding the whole thing into his bag.

Maybe this person could be the one Nathaniel could work on the comic with since his mystery admirer has an affinity for writing and likes his art. He started heading to the door while thinking as he hears footsteps. But once outside in the hallway he didn't see anyone in sight. He shrugged and made his way to the cafeteria.

The artist sat down at his usual table with Marinette, Alix, Rose, and Juleka, who arrived there not long after. He nodded in greeting at Juleka and the shy girl's excitable girlfriend. The two quickly got lost in their own conversation and Nathaniel waved at Alix as she sat down next to him before he smiled at Marinette.

Nathaniel started eating his food and, after a few seconds, abruptly recalled the letter sitting in his bag. He opened his bag and took the note out to see if any of his friends knew something about who the note could be from. As soon as he pulled it out, Alix noticed and got a curious look on her face.

"What's that?", she asked loudly, attracting the attention of everyone at the table.

Now, everyone was asking the same question. Nathaniel quietly waited until everyone turned silent before explaining.

"I just found this in my locker. It's a...letter. I don't know who wrote it though." he said shyly, his cheeks bright red.

"That is so cute!" Rose squealed as she placed her hands on her cheeks with a big smile on her face.

Juleka gave a small smile and nodded in agreement with her girlfriend.

Alix hummed in thought. "Whoever wrote this might be pretty sneaky to drop that off without being seen."

"Yeah. I have no idea how to find who gave this to me." Nathaniel replied with a small frown.

The artist started thinking of ways he can track the mystery writer when Alix suddenly gave a suggestion.

"Maybe you can just keep an eye out and see if anyone writes outside of class. If you notice someone, you can discreetly check out their handwriting and see if it matches the note."

Nathaniel nodded before the bell rang.

Nathaniel suddenly noticed that Marinette hadn't given her input and found it odd since she usually gave advice or an opinion in situations like this. He looked at her and saw her looking at something near the door to the cafeteria, her eyebrows slightly knitted in thought. He looked over to see what caught her attention but doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

He looked back at her before speaking. "Are you okay, Marinette?"

She snapped out of it and smiled reassuringly at him. "Yeah. Everything's alright."

Nathaniel wondered what that was about, but decided not to question it since they needed to head to class now to avoid being late. He spent the rest of the day with his thoughts consumed by the letter and the mystery person who left it there. He headed off to his home quickly, not bothering to sit after school and spent the rest of his night trying to keep his mind off of the letter with no success.

Nathaniel repeated his nightly routine and got onto his bed, his mind buzzing with an endless stream of thoughts but somehow managed to fall asleep.

Then Nathaniel went through the same motions he did the previous morning and found himself at school in no time at all. He found a quiet spot to sit down and worked in his sketchbook.

Nathaniel smiled and drew, enjoying a calming morning before having to go to class. He managed to finish some quick doodles of the heroes of Paris. Nathaniel was peacefully working on his sketches when Alix came to where he was sitting, her face bearing a wide grin and a slightly smug expression.

He fought the urge to let out an audible groan. He has been friends with Alix long enough to know that the look which was planted on her face meant that she was excited about something important that most likely involved him. She stopped next to the bench he was sitting on before addressing him.

"Nathaniel, I have something you're going to want to know about."

The artist shot her a skeptical look before deciding to take the bait. "What is it?"

"I'm pretty sure I found the identity of your mystery writer," she said with a grin.

Nathaniel started to feel hope rise in him. "How do you know that you found the mystery writer?"

"I saw someone writing and managed to glance at the handwriting. It looked like it was the same as the writing on the letter you got," she explained.

Nathaniel's eyes lit up as he felt happiness filling him. "Who is this 'someone'?"

"Just follow me and I'll show you." Alix simply said.

Nathaniel stood up and grabbed his bag before following Alix across the courtyard. She led him to a corner and they stayed close to the wall. Alix motioned for Nathaniel to stop and he nodded at her. She then wordlessly pointed in the direction of a nearby bench where someone was sitting alone, just writing in a journal.

He felt his heartbeat pick up its pace slightly as he took in his looks. The first thing he noticed was a messy head of black hair and a bright red hoodie. Then his eyes landed on the dainty, nose resting above a pair of pink lips that look incredibly soft. His gaze moved upwards and he took in the brightest eyes he'd ever seen.

The green was unlike any shade he'd ever seen. Nathaniel took out his sketchbook and hurriedly drew the boy's features, wanting to have them to use for later reference. As soon as he finished with outlining the last detail, the bell rang. He shut his sketchbook and headed over to the stairs with Alix beside him.

As they were walking, Nathaniel started planning how to respond to the letter, now that he knew who wrote it. He paid attention to the boy in the red hoodie as the dark-haired boy headed into the locker room for a different class. Nathaniel mentally made a note of where the room was for his plan before heading to class and taking his usual seat.

The artist pulled out his sketchbook and began working on his idea. He made a quick outline before finalizing the lines. Nathaniel spent most of the day putting all of his efforts into adding color and finishing touches to the drawing that he was going to give to his secret admirer later. He hoped that the shy boy will like it as much as he liked the green-eyed boy's letter.

Nathaniel found the words about his art nice. He finished the coloring and smiled, satisfied with how his work turned out before adding his trademark in the corner. He decided to draw himself and the other boy holding and kissing each other. Once done, he excused himself from class and started making his way to the locker room that he saw the other boy go into earlier.

Nathaniel heard footsteps behind him and turned around to see Alix quickly approaching him. He gave her a quizzical look, wondering what she was doing.

Alix noticed the look and explained. "I'm coming with you to back you up and make sure you go through with this."

The red-headed boy only nodded in response and continued making his way down the hall. The two quickly went into the empty room and made quick work of checking lockers to find the right one. The second locker they checked had the notebook he saw his secret admirer writing in.

Nathaniel carefully laid the drawing down on it and closed the locker. Then he and Alix quietly left the room and decided to stay hidden at the end of the hallway, about 15 feet away from the door. The bell rang and they watched from a distance as the writer headed into the room while Nathaniel tried not to get nervous.

"Go get him, lover boy." Alix interrupted his thoughts with her words as she snickered a little. Nathaniel shook his head at her antics before walking over to the door and entering. He stood behind the other boy quietly, just watching as he took the paper out and looked at it.

Nathaniel clears his throat after a few seconds and the other boy jumped before turning around and regarding him with those beautiful green eyes. The dark-haired boy stayed quiet and just gazed nervously at him, his cheeks clearly flushing. Nathaniel swallowed down his nerves and pushed down his awkwardness as best as he could before managing to say what he had been rehearsing all day.

"Hi, I'm Nathaniel, um... you already know that, don't you? I really enjoyed your letter and I would like to get to know you too, so I was wondering something. W-would you like to go out to have a coffee or something since school is over for the day?", he got out while unknowingly reaching a hand up and rubbing the back of his neck. It had always been a nervous habit of his.

Nathaniel waited for the other boy to respond, not knowing how he will. He was surprised by the confident look that manifested on his secret admirer's face before those beautiful, pink lips parted and one word slipped out from between them in a determined tone. "Yes."

Nathaniel wasn't aware of his slow blink as he forced himself to stop rambling so that he could answer the other boy. He tried to speak as evenly as possible while fighting the blush, that was most likely, getting more prominent on his face. "Okay. There's a cafe not far from here."

Nathaniel felt his cheeks heating up as he left the school with the shy writer and couldn't help glancing at him every now and then, finding himself unable to believe that this was actually happening.


End file.
